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Impact
Beef Producers Could Have More Precise Way to Manage Herds
Beef producers in the future could have a more precise way to determine the productivity of their cattle, thanks to a collaboration between the University of Missouri’s Engineering and the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural…
Impact
Newly Discovered Trait Helps Plants Grow Deeper Roots in Dry, Compacted Soils
Image courtesy of Hannah Schneider/Penn State. A previously unknown root trait allows some cereal plants to grow deeper roots capable of punching through dry, hard, compacted soils, according to Penn State University researchers,…
Impact
No-Till Practices in Vulnerable Areas Significantly Reduce Soil Erosion
Soil erosion is a major challenge in agricultural production. It affects soil quality and carries nutrient sediments that pollute waterways. While soil erosion is a naturally occurring process, agricultural activities such as…
Impact
Delicious and Disease-free: Scientists Attempting New Citrus Varieties
University of California Riverside (UCR) scientists are betting an ancient solution will solve citrus growers’ biggest problem by breeding new fruits with natural resistance to a deadly tree disease. The hybrid fruits will ideally…
Impact
Climate Change Reduces the Abundance and Diversity of Wild Bees
Wild bees are more affected by climate change than by disturbances to their habitats, according to a team of researchers led by Penn State University. The findings suggest that addressing land-use issues alone will not be sufficient…
Impact
Powering Up Stretchy Technology
A Michigan State University (MSU) research team has developed a new “4D printing” approach to help power stretchable devices. The researchers led by MSU’s Changyong Cao has created stretchable energy-storage devices using a…
Impact
Grassland 2.0 Seeks to Transform Upper Midwest Agriculture Through Perennial Grasslands
In an era when farmers have been told to go big or get out, Wisconsin dairy farmers have found a way to make farms more profitable and more sustainable through managed rotational grazing. A newly formed collaborative group based at…
Impact
Team IDs Differences in Gene-Related Activity Between Ancient, Modern Corn
Roughly 9,000 years ago, Native American farmers in southern Mexico began domesticating teosinte, the wild ancestor of modern corn. Whereas the ancient teosinte plant produces hundreds of slender, thumb-length ears with no more than…
Impact
Pacific Northwest Youth to Explore Agriculture through Virtual Reality
The pandemic has taken students out of the classroom, but middle and high-schoolers in Oregon and Washington will be able to explore agriculture through immersive experiences, including virtual reality, and other online activities…
Impact
Researchers Work to Stop Ironwood Tree Decline in Guam
With U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants totaling almost $370,000, researchers from the University of Guam and other institutions are in the process of analyzing termites to assess their role in infecting what is now more…
Impact
Researchers Make Breakthrough in Fighting Agricultural Plant Diseases
Texas A&M AgriLife researchers have made a discovery that will help combat fastidious pathogens, which cost U.S. agriculture billions of dollars annually. Fastidious plant pathogens infect citrus, tomatoes, potatoes, grapes, peppers…
Impact
Aspirin After Calving Can Provide Relief to Dairy Cows, Increase Milk Production
Dairy cows that received a short course of anti-inflammatory medication after calving had lower metabolic stress and produced more milk than untreated cows, according to researchers, who say the regimen they tested could be adopted…
Impact
Clemson Researcher Studies Organic Agriculture Soil Challenges
The organic industry is the fastest growing agricultural segment in the United States, but low soil organic carbon, meager soil fertility and poor soil structure are keeping South Carolina farmers from reaping the benefits of this…
Impact
Study Finds Plant Defense Layer has Unexpected Effect on Volatile Compounds
A Purdue University biochemist and her colleagues have pioneered new methods for increasing production of volatile compounds important for plant defenses and for use in biofuels, pharmaceuticals and other products. While investigating…
Impact
Veterinarian Network and Mentoring Program Launching in Texas, New Mexico
A group of Texas A&M AgriLife faculty are establishing a rural veterinarian network to provide education and assistance to make rural veterinary practices sustainable. Many rural large animal practices are operated by older…
Impact
Scientists Work to Cut Greenhouse Gases, One Cow Burp at a Time
When you first learn that cows produce methane, a greenhouse gas, you might assume it comes from the animal’s rear end. But you would be wrong. “Methane is generated in an organ called the rumen, which is the first of the cow’s ‘four…
Impact
Multi-state Coalition Aims to Advance Agriculture by Driving Research, Education, and Adoption of Nation’s First Perennial Grain Crop
A multi-state coalition of researchers, farmers, educators, industry leaders, policy experts, and climate scientists were recently awarded a competitive five-year, $10 million grant through USDA NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research…
Impact
Farm Biosecurity Education Goes Virtual with Discovery Learning Series
We are witnessing in real time the spread of a virulent, infectious diseases among the human population. Livestock and poultry are susceptible to infectious diseases as well, and the impacts can be devastating for anyone raising farm…
Impact
Plant Chemicals are a Trick or Treat for Insects
Plants contain a mixture of hundreds of unique chemicals that can attract or repel pests like caterpillars. For the caterpillar, this means they can choose from a buffet of tasty plants with varying phytochemicals. Some choices are a…
Impact
Advanced Biofuels Show Promise
Biofuel and bioenergy systems are integral to scenarios for displacing fossil fuel use and producing negative emissions through carbon capture and storage. But the net greenhouse gas mitigation benefit of these systems has been…
Impact
University of Hawaiʻi to Receive $1.5 Million for Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources
The University of Hawaiʻi will receive $1.5 million in grant funding from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to expand education programs focused on food, agriculture and natural resources. This funding is part of a…
Impact
Flavonoids' Presence in Sorghum Roots May Lead to Frost-Resistant Crop
Flavonoid compounds, produced by the roots of some sorghum plants, positively affect soil microorganisms, according to Penn State University researchers. They suggest the discovery is an early step in developing a frost-resistant line…
Impact
Specialty Crop Farmers Can Increase Yields Through Improved Pollination
Most of the world’s crops depend on bees and other insects for pollination, so the decline in honey bees and wild bee populations raises concerns about food security. Crop yields for apples, cherries, and blueberries across the…
Impact
West Virginia University Professor Working to Lower THC Levels in Industrial Hemp
While the kind of hemp that's grown in West Virginia does not contain the level of the psychoactive substance present in its cousin, marijuana, it does contain a trace, sometimes more. A West Virginia University (WVU) professor hopes…
Impact
Purdue University Team to Develop Rapid Sensor Technology for Cattle Disease
Bovine respiratory disease, one of the most prevalent and costly illnesses in the beef and dairy industries, accounts for about half of all feedlot deaths in North America and costs producers as much as $900 million a year, according…
